A Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian missile facility Wednesday morning triggered huge fireballs visible from space and thunderous detonations that set off seismic monitors.
Even by the standards of this incendiary conflict, the video showing the explosions north of Moscow is remarkable footage.
Officials on both sides claimed the incident was caused by a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Toropets, a town in the Tver region about 370 kilometers (230 miles) from the Russian capital. Russian state media had previously reported that the military was building an arsenal to store missiles and other explosives in the town.
Tver Governor Igor Rudenya told reporters that all drones in the region had been shot down and that a fire had broken out on the ground from debris from one downed drone. As he spoke, loud explosions could be heard in the background.
Rudenya said he had ordered a partial evacuation of the surrounding area, and state media reported that schools and kindergartens had been closed while firefighters worked to put out the blazes.
He later announced that people could return to their homes and said all public services in the region were functioning. Thirteen people were taken to hospital in moderate condition following the incident, Russian news agencies reported, citing the region’s health ministry.
The fires were so intense that they were detected by NASA satellites, while the explosion was registered as a magnitude 3.2 earthquake by the Norwegian monitoring agency NORSAR.
A source in the Ukrainian security services confirmed to NBC News that its drones had “wiped out a large warehouse of the Main Missile and Artillery Department” of the Russian military. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the operations, said that Iskander, Tochka and KAB missiles were stored there.
The attack is part of Ukraine’s attempt to “methodically reduce the enemy’s missile potential, with which it destroys Ukrainian cities.”
The geotagged images released by Reuters were consistent with the detonation of 200 to 240 tons of high-powered explosives, George William Herbert, who teaches at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, told the news agency.
Russian air defense systems have destroyed some 54 drones launched overnight against five western regions of Russia, Russian state news agencies reported, citing a report from Moscow’s Defense Ministry.
Since its invasion in February 2024, Russia has rained missiles on Ukraine, destroying sites including schools, hospitals and apartment buildings while claiming it does not target civilians.
kyiv has increasingly responded with drone strikes against military targets on Russian soil. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is pressuring the United States and other allies to lift restrictions that prohibit him from using powerful, long-range Western weapons to strike deeper into Russia.
Washington and other countries appear increasingly open to the idea, drawing anger and warnings of retaliation from the Kremlin.
